Here, There, And Inbetween
by Metaphorically
Summary: A series of one-shots in which Ellie and Joel find themselves settling down in Tommy's settlement back in Jackson. As life for them begins to change, so do the encounters and experiences they have day to day, whether they're for better, or for worse. It's still a harsh world, but so long as they're together, it seems just a bit more bearable. Prequel to "The Hardest Road."
1. Crash

Rare moments happen within the settlement, such as when things seemed to have died down, and it was a rather quiet day and led on into the evening, which would lead Tommy and Maria to arrange a town gathering in the courtyard and bring all the families together for a night of relaxation.

Tables and chairs would be set up, and a long, dinner table would be put out covered in a variety of cooked game and food where everyone could go to serve themselves and eat to their heart's content. And over the speaker posts in the yard, music would blast to life. In suit, on the court kids and parents would start dancing and laughing like it's the best day they've had in their life. Isolation of their town helped too, no worries about drawing any Infected in, or Bandits if they weren't around for the time being.

Besides, events like these took the edge off.

And when these things came up, it made Joel, especially happy. Not for the fact of being around other townsfolk, whom he knew didn't take a liking to him for whatever reason they had, but for the sake that when these get-together's would happen it put such a smile on Ellie's face to go visit some of the kids she actually enjoys seeing, to dance, and all around just be a damn kid.

It puts a glimmer in her eyes and an extra hop in her step and goddammit Joel feels so enamored by it because she's actually feeling gratified instead of being haunted and plagued by the past.

They're walking down the street together, and they're stuck along each other's side like glue. Ellie's telling some stupid joke and Joel's looking down at her, a smile on his face as she's talking with lit up eyes, a smile too dawning on her features. They don't quite notice the others around them looking.

"-And then it hit me." Ellie finishes, letting out a low chuckle.

Joel snorts, "That was terrible."

"_You're_ terrible." She responds light-heartedly.

It's only a little after that do they notice some of the apparent stares as they make their way finally to the courtyard, and when the music gets louder and louder, filling their ears, they just brush them off. Tommy and Maria spot them through some of the groups, and come up and greet them with their typical kindness, and just like that they're both off dancing with each other, doing what any regular couple would do together.

They eat, and a lot. And after they feel like they can't anymore, Ellie strolls off to greet some of her friends, but this time, surprisingly, only vaguely. Joel's sitting down for all of eight minutes when she comes back and manages to drag Joel by the hand and get to him dance with her. He doesn't resist, because he's happy to oblige. He's willing to make himself look like an awkward imbecile dancing around everyone else if it meant making Ellie happy.

So here they are, Joel's dancing with Ellie and fuck are they ever just happy, he grabs her by the hand and she does a subtle twist with her feet that Joel can't help but try to shamelessly mimic. She laughs at his ridiculous attempts but also because she's in the joy of the moment and life seems okay, everything seems it would be okay. Their incessant dancing goes on from song by passing song, minute from minute, and they don't stop just yet.

The other families dancing in the courtyard and the others sitting at the tables glance at the infamous duo, but that's all they do. Shit, it's all they can do. They can only stare and not one of them even dare to think about going near Joel and his little girl, who in their eyes didn't seem all that little or innocent.

Some even start murmuring brief gossip about the two as they sat watching with a deadpan, and Joel and Ellie are completely unaware of it. Regardless if they knew or not, shit like they would even care because to them it didn't matter who thought what, they loved each other and would always be together, not one without the other way of living and the world could try as hard as it could to break that but they'd endure and survive it no matter what.

"She's not even his real daughter, is she?" One woman asks in a low whisper, and the man sitting next to her only shakes his head in disdain.

"No, she isn't," He replies gruffly, "It's odd ain't it? How they're never not together."

The music picks up and Ellie spins around, she does a little jump with the beat of the music and she almost slips and busts her ass on the ground, Joel cracks up and she punches him in the arm as she regains balance, making some silly insult that can only make him chuckle even harder. They're both smiling so bright at each other and it's almost like they feed from that on one another, and fuels every step and breath they take. God it's so beautiful and hopeful in what they have so why does everyone think it's so wrong, and something to be shameful of. Like their so-called 'tainted' relationship needed validation when it sure as fuck didn't.

Putting her hand on her chin, the woman shifts her gaze from the stranger back to them, her eyebrows furrow. "Huh. Well they look happy together.."

The man took a long swig from his canteen before shaking his head, swallowing harshly, "Have mercy on the idiot that gets in between that man and his girl."

When the music finally stops for the time being, Joel does the embarrassing thing Ellie doesn't like but doesn't quite hate either. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her into a vice like bear hug and holds her like any overly proud father would in fondness of their child. She lets out a mixture of a groan and an exasperated chuckle at his tight embrace; all the air pours right out of her lungs and it almost feels like she might pass out from lack of oxygen before he finally releases her.

Some looking, and people in general think that's so unnatural of Joel, so unlike him to do such loving, delicate things. They think, how could a bloody, merciless killer dance around like that, pretending nothing was wrong. Hell, even a smile is a rare thing to see on him when it's just him they're with. But fuck, when he's with her, let alone just speaking her name, he's a whole different man.

He's changed, and it's like he looks to her and she always gives him that hope and love and light he needs to stay alive in a cruel world like this. He thrives and is so dependent on it that it drives him to get up every morning and face the challenges this shitty, post-apocalyptic place had to offer by the handfuls. And you know just fucking what? He welcomed it, and did it with satisfaction, because he knew he wouldn't have to face it alone any longer.

"Okay-" Joel breathes out quickly. Y'know, for a man his age, he's surprised he didn't bust a hip or some bullshit like that.

"-I think we take a break, yeah?"

"Definitely." Ellie agrees, her hand pushes some stray hair out of her face as she catches her breath.

An option was that Ellie could've just kept dancing or went off to see the other kids some more, but tonight she wanted to stay especially close to Joel. The past few days they've been separated to a certain extent. Joel had a duty to go out on supply runs or catch food with Tommy and some of the other working men, and Ellie had a job to stay with Maria and tend to the duties within the town. Aside from that, tonight just seemed like a night that they could catch up on just being together, and bond just like the rest of the families that were here.

They're making their way past the food table when a man stumbles past them, he leans more to the side and Ellie's shoulder roughly nudges into his inadvertently. Immediately she stops walking and Joel notices as his feet come to a halt too, she turns to the man with an apologetic look.

"Whoa, sorry about that."

At that the man scoffs, he stares at Ellie before looking to Joel, it's only then he realizes exactly who they are. And his mouth gets the best of him.

"Your girl come with a leash!?" The stranger spits out in a loud slur at Joel, his eyes narrowing insultingly as he almost instantaneously attracts the attention of majority of the other people and families around him.

The man with the canteen takes another quick swig as the scene calls his attention, and he watches from afar as Joel's demeanor shifts dramatically.

"Heh, spoke too soon." He grumbles sarcastically, turning to the woman who's also watching, her eyes wide.

That man must have had a goddamn death wish, or maybe it was the heavy smell of brandy radiating from his big mouth. Either way, he definitely started something that in a few short moments, he's going to wish he didn't. Had he been sober, he wouldn't have spoken a word to Joel or Ellie, let alone an insult to Joel's apparent daughter. Then again, liquid courage always gave that extra confidence kick in people, and in this mans case, a leap at any chance to start a problem.

Tommy and Maria perk their heads up, trying to see what exactly is going on.

Ellie takes a step back, slightly hurt and offended, but she's still got a toughness in her that keeps her backbone strong. Regardless, with the snap of a finger Joel's now in close resemblance to a downright crossed bear. He steps directly in front of her, like he's protecting everything about her, above all else it's her morale and dignity he's trying to defend the most.

"You best not be talkin' about her." Joel advises, his words coming out sharp, and leaning on the line of cautious.

Joel knows he's intoxicated, and he knows it ain't fair to pick a fight with a man in a drunken stupor, but when it involved Ellie, that became all null and void.

"Well excuuse me for spreadin' the honesty!" He shoots back sarcastically. His voice sounds really Southern, and it's unknown whether that's because he's really from the South, or the amount of drinks he had made him believe he was.

Joel's fists clench, and within seconds Tommy's already walking over, knowing exactly what's about to happen. The others continue to watch, unsure of what to do. They surely won't step in if they want to make it home in one piece. Ellie scoffs, and she rolls her eyes. She puts her hand over Joel's and grabs it, trying to separate him from the dumbass who clearly just wants a reaction in his state of completely idiocy. At her touch he relaxes somewhat, like she's got this sort of ability to tame every nerve in him. To an extent, that is - he still wants to hit this blabbering bastard.

"C'mon Joel, let's go." She says with a hint of sternness.

And for a second, just for a second does Joel cave in. He makes a movement to turn around and walk in the opposite direction.

Tommy sees this happen, but he continues to walk forward anyway.

"You and yer' girl ain't got no place in this town!" He shouts out in agitation and instigation. The words are so slurred, yet still understandable.

Joel freezes, Ellie freezes.

Everyone's dead quiet, mouths agape.

Then.

Well, then the fucking gloves come flying off.

Joel's releases Ellie's hand and he whips around with a shaking fury. Every bit of anger that dwelled up within such a quick amount of time all released in a sudden punch that caught him off guard. It hit him with such a blunt and harsh force, the drunk was knocked over and ended up right on his back, he lets out a sputter of air. Within seconds Joel's on top of him, one blow after the other. A crack is heard after about the fifth punch and the man lets out a howl of pain between a now freshly busted lip, but the man's still trying to fight back by attempting to lift Joel off of him; to no avail.

Ellie can only stand in shock before Maria comes and pulls her back away from the scene.

"Joel! Goddammit!" Tommy calls as he wraps his arms around his bigger brother's frame, trying to heave him off of the poor son of a bitch.

Joel doesn't even pay attention as Tommy pulls harder and harder, he only continues to throw punches.

"C'mon you piece of shit!" Joel growls in response the messy drunks lack of resistance. Joel's eyes are narrowed and his nostrils are fuming.

"Someone get him off of him!" A woman calls out, trying to cover her children's eyes that are forced to look in sheer curiosity.

Two other men from the other tables shoot up and walk over, and Tommy finally builds up the strength to drag Joel off of him and shoved him back, but not before he gets one last punch. The drunk coughs up some bloody saliva and spits it on the ground, before the two other man get him up on his feet, holding him steady.

"That motherfucker broke my damn nose!" He says, like he's so shocked to come to expect anything different.

"Joel! Easy, easy!" Tommy says sternly, holding his brother back by the shoulders. He can see that fire lit in his eyes.

"If I ever see your goddamn face again I swear i'll break more than your fuckin' nose-!" Joel spits between a clenched jaw and watches bitterly as the two men drag him away from the scene.

"Stop for fuck's sake!" Tommy intervenes, "You're scarin' the damn kids!"

Joel then turns around to look for the only person he wants to see, and there she is. He sees Ellie. And just look at her. She's staring at him with those fucking eyes. She's not shocked, or afraid. Never. She'd never be afraid of Joel. These people here just didn't understand him or who he was, and why he got to be so protective like this. But it didn't matter, because she'd never be scared of him. No, not ever in her life.

He forgets about the needs or stares of everyone else and he just grabs Ellie's hand and Jesus he's calm as night now. He holds her hand with such a tenderness and pulls her along and she willingly follows; not even guilty or angry at his reasoning for doing what he did. He was Joel, what else could you expect?

"I'm sorry, but c'mon honey." He says softly to her.

That's _all_ he says. And shit it's so sweet and tender and calm that it leaves everyone in pure confusion after his breakdown of rage as he marches off with her alongside him. Tommy runs a hand through his hair and Maria puts a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. The families on the other hand, take a few minutes to properly take in what just happened. Although, it was fair enough to say the party was now over, and the way people perceived Joel certainly got worse within those short moments. That, and there'd be a hell of a lot of explaining to do in the morning.

The moral of the evening?

If you want a death wish, you only need to ask Joel.


	2. Green Eyes

All day.

All day Ellie has laid in her bed, expressionless to the events of today that went on outside. The families by now started making their way back home, because on the plus side, the sun was setting, and the day was almost over. Ellie can see it from her large window, and at least that was nice, despite the real reason she's stayed home today. Depression wasn't the exact word to describe these emotions that would creep on her from time to time; but it wasn't exactly far off either.

Fuck, it was just terrible really.

The events of Winter plagued her, David plagued her, the events of her and Joel's journey entirely plagued her. Because you can't quite unsee things that stick in your mind. How can you undo all the things you've done, long after the damned consequential repercussions? Change wasn't always the sort of thing everybody welcomes with open arms and a party, especially when it makes your life take a turn for the worst, and it makes you miserable. When it twists you against your will into a confused, conflicted person just struggling to see the blurring lines of morality and sanity. It was fucked.

She hears the door open and slam shut and she knows Joel's home, yet she doesn't slide her legs off her bed, she just lays tangled in the sheets, her feet shift and she knocks all four copies of Savage Starlight on the floor. She sighs. She doesn't care, she really just wants to sleep and sleep and sleep and maybe not wake up. That's selfish she thinks, she could never leave Joel, she'd never _want_ to leave Joel. Can he come upstairs already? She misses him.

His boots are heard coming up the stairs, and her green eyes peek up to look. They're slightly red, and she briefly reaches her arms up to wipe her eyes, only then does she realize that they're wet. Why are they wet? Did she start crying again without even noticing? Goddamn it, just fucking wow, everything around her and every thought was just getting to her today, no matter how hard she's tried to push it away.

Joel's shadow bounces off the wall and her nerves settle like that, and she curls up in the blankets even more. When he finally comes into her view she's not sure whether to smile or look away because she's been crying. She hates crying near him, she doesn't want to seem weak, she wants to be strong, always. For eachother.

He's got the guitar in his hand and his eyes light up when he sees Ellie, like a day's worth of bullshit and mucking around in the dirt comes right off.

"Hey, babygirl." He says softly, his feet treading over to the edge of her bed.

"Hi, Joel." She says half hopefully, half somberly as she gazes at him, and she smiles softly.

Just by doing that, she could tell what he was going to say when his smile faded into that uninvited frown.

Joel knew that it was different.

Because her face smiled, but her eyes didn't. They were blank, and filled with anxieties. Shit, it wasn't that obvious, was it?

He places the guitar against the bed as he took a seat down on the side of the bed next to her.

"How are you? Why are you crying? What's wrong?"

Damn it.

And he asks her so hurriedly and it all comes out just as one question, and Ellie just wants to laugh because his hand is already wiping her damp eyes and she's not sure of what to say but that's okay because he loves her and he cares, and that's all that matters, right?

She brushes his hand away and chuckles, with a smile that doesn't sit quite right on her face. "Ah, it's nothing." She shrugs, "How are you?"

Joel smiles before he reaches down and takes the guitar in his arms, positioning it comfortably as he now sits on the edge of the bed, facing her.

If he's gonna sing-

"Good. We caught a lot of food huntin' today."

Ellie nods in acknowledgement and leans her head further back into her pillow, and she can begin to feel herself relax physically and mentally as Joel lightly plucks the strings on the guitar. Of course he was gonna sing, and he was gonna ask her too but he'll end up doing it anyways. He begins to play a slow, calming rhythm with each chord before repeating. Ellie closes her eyes, re-collecting herself as she gives Joel a more genuine smile this time.

Picking up on it, Joel raises an eyebrow, his smile staying stuck on his face, "You want me to sing?"

Predictable. And Ellie loves it.

"You don't have too." She mumbles, and Joel snorts before he lets out a low cough, removing the tension in his throat.

Of course he's going to fucking sing because he knows it's the only thing that's going to make her feel better somewhat better besides him talking; it usually does. Despite Ellie's claims, Joel finds himself a fucking ridiculous conversationalist. And his fingers strum and strum, eventually, his voice comes out, and how it usually does when he sings. Gentle, soft, and chaste, like he's a totally different person.

_"Honey you, are a rock, upon which I stand."_

_"And I come here to talk, I hope you understand.."_

Ellie's eyes close, but her smile stays as her ears listen, and fuck everything just seems better instantly; it _feels_ better. She feels like she can't even breathe when these moments happened, when he sung. She feels her body grow heavy after only hearing the first two melodic sentences, his words coaxed her in a comforting, metaphorical blanket, reassuring her that she could do anything, that _they_ could get through anything so long as they stayed together. And if that isn't the damnedest she's ever thought but she knows she's not wrong.

Joel's smile grows wider when he sings out another word and strums another chord.

_"That green eyes, yeah the spotlight, shines upon you."_

He softly mutters out the words as he looks at her slowly starting to fall asleep, and God he gets that aching feeling in his knees that goes along with his heart. How ludicrous he finds it that once upon a time he was actually able to go about his once secular life without her in it. At this point now he can't even bring himself to think about those times. Because now all he can do, all he wants to do is just, be, with her, around her, teach her, love her, sing to her, and offer her a life that this world couldn't grant to her even if it tries.

Joel thinks to himself the many ways he could thank Ellie's former parents if he gotten the chance to. Thank them for giving him the opportunity to have her as his own daughter, to have something to wake up in the morning and look forward to seeing, and to just give him another chance to become the person he once was. It's cheesy, yeah, but just.. fuck. He wouldn't trade any of this in for anything else.

_"And how could anybody, deny you."_

_"I came here with a load."_

_"And it feels so much lighter, now I've met you."_

These words spoke with so much virtue and honesty that Joel can feel his throat clench up and his back radiate with an intense heat that creeps around and drapes over his whole body. Nonetheless, he keeps singing anyway. He does this for her, and every second of being able to do it was bliss, just damned bliss.

_"And honey you should know,_

_That I could never go on without you."_

_"Honey you are the sea, upon which I flow."_

Ellie's leg shifts underneath the sheet and she nudges him gently, momentarily detaching him from his inner thoughts.

She grumbles in slight disappointment, but there's still the smile on her face nonetheless, because she knows the words that he's singing are speaking to her on a larger emotional scale, "Why didn't you become a singer? Idiot."

Joel feels a chuckle about to rise out of his throat but he holds it down and keeps strumming. His voice stays deep, but steady.

_"Green eyes, you're the one I wanted to find."_

_"And anyone who tried to deny you, must be out of their mind."_

_"Cause I came here with a load."_

_"And it feels so much lighter, since I've met you."_

Ellie doesn't even close her eyes or try to sleep at this point anymore. She now just hums along at the chorus with him, her green eyes that he's so fondly singing about gazing at him with a look that could just single-handedly wash all the years of that goddamned guilt and anguish right off his skin and soul so effortlessly.

_"Green eyes,"_

_"Green eyes,"_

Joel's strumming then grows lighter, and slows down, his voice faltering into a minor decibel.

_"Honey, you, are a rock.._

_Upon which,_

_I stand.."_

The last chords fade away into the air, now leaving them in silence before Joel sets the guitar down aside.

Ellie doesn't notice she's crying yet again until she throws herself up from the sheets and starts clapping and making ridiculously grateful noises and her tears start sliding down her cheeks. Joel ducks his head down and mumbles something that she assumes is a thank you. Abruptly, she throws herself up at him, hugging him so hard she thinks her arms might fall off.

"Joel, thank you, just.. thank you, I loved it." She's holding back anything beyond tears as she buries her face into his chest and he's hugging her back tightly, so hard that for a moment she thinks he might break something but who is she kidding she doesn't care. She's laughing, crying, in a good way, and all the melancholic and guilty thoughts that stalked and pounced on her all goddamned day could fuck right off.

He murmurs something into her hair.

"Hmm?" She asks as she leans back, wiping her eyes with her small fingers.

Joel shakes his head, "It's nothing. I'm just… I'm glad you liked that one." He says, and his voice is thick in the way that it gets when he feels like he's going to cry.

They sit there for a very long time long time, before an hour later they find themselves with only the dim lantern lighting up their room, and they're both underneath the thick, enveloping sheets, covering the two in comfort and security as Joel's one arm is lazily around Ellie as he inhales and exhales deeply in his sleep. And Jesus, is it ridiculously adorable and the root of what's worth keeping and preserving in this world.

Forget what every judgmental person in this town had to say about their relationship, and forget what the world tried to do to go against this. Forget about worrying all the time about the worst of the worst. Because in moments like these, it's a fucking validation that through what they have, it's impenetrable, it's unstoppable.

And with that, they can make it through anything together.

Hell, they _will_ make it through anything together.


	3. We Take Care of Eachother

Joel was screaming.

And it wasn't just any screams.

They were gut wrenching, deep screams that alerted the world of his perpetual fear and agony breaking through his seams.

Ellie's in his arms and fuck she's bleeding out of her side everywhere and it's staining his hands and shirt. His feet are carrying him like they never have before in all of his twenty years of surviving in this shitty place. He's just making it out of the tree-line and back into Tommy and Maria's settlement. The underbrush and the bushes are so thick he can almost feel himself get caught in it as it rubs harshly against his skin, but he keeps going because he won't let her die, no, he can't let her die.

God, this can't happen again. Please, don't let this be like Sarah, he begs to himself.

Ellie's eyes are barely open and she's pale and goddamn it she's in so much shock and she's so weak and the only thing she can do is continue to look up at him with an expressionless, blank stare. Her breaths come out quick and pained, like she can still sort of breathe but can barely do the job. Little groans and heaves of pain escape her lips and every nerve in her is a fire being lit from both ends.

She's never been shot.

She didn't expect it.

But when those bandits they found in the woods ambushed them, and after Joel managed to kill all but one. It wasn't second nature for Ellie to even doubt doing it. When Joel's revolver raised but the man's pistol raised slightly quicker, she just.. did it.

It wasn't a choice, it wasn't even for nobility.

It was natural.

It was natural to protect him.

_"We take care of eachother."_

Her feet shuffled to the side in front of Joel, and when the ignition in the gun went off from the man's pistol and Joel's matched in suit. The man fell over dead, and Ellie felt the force of something go right in her side. It didn't hurt, was it supposed to hurt? And after questioning the pain of being shot that's exactly when she felt the agonizing burn flare up in her side, unlike anything she's felt before; her hand found where it lodged in her and her throat went dry. Joel could only briefly stare in pure denial before going into full-blown hysterics as she turned to face him before she felt her legs grow heavy as lead.

But he was safe.

She collapsed over right on the dirt with a hard thump, her mind now caught up with the physical affliction by reacting in sheer distress. Ellie bursts into cries of pain, hot tears welling in her eyes as she writhes on the ground, her hand clutching her side in spite of how much it hurts to hold it there. Droplets of blood already staining through her shirt and dying her hands a crimson colour.

That was over fifteen minutes ago.

"Look at me baby," Joel pleads with her, his flustered eyes looking down every other second as he ran, making sure she stayed awake.

"Look, baby girl, look, I'm right here. You're gonna be alright."

In all honesty, Joel wasn't sure if his words were trying to reassure her, or himself. And fuck, at this point he even can't help it anymore the tears spill from his sunken eyes and he chokes out a weak, little breath of air but he doesn't bother to wipe his eyes as he continues to clutch her to his chest, she molds into him like she's that one part of him that he can't fucking live without.

Ellie only blinks at him, and everything on her feels so heavy, and she feels tired. Like she could just close her eyes and take the world's longest nap. She wants too but her eyes can't even flutter without Joel's voice calling her back to reality. She can hear him choking back those tears, she can hear how his voice gets right before he's on the verge of breaking down. But she feels.. just so tired.

But it's okay that she's in pain because goddammit Joel's safe, he's breathing and he's okay. He's okay.

She'd take a million bullets more if it meant keeping him like that.

Ellie knows he would do the same.

_"We take care of eachother."_

She faintly hears the sounds of familiar voices, and only when she looks up does she see Tommy, and some man next to him. He's wearing some sort of uniform but she's so hazy and confused, all she can hear is Joel remaining frantic, she can feel herself sway in his arms in his timorous state.

"Help her!" Joel begs, and it comes out like it usually does. Gruff and in that thick accent of his, but it's cracking and it sounds ever so faint. He's suffering she knows it because she can feel the weight that's in his stomach move to hers. She can feel the desperation, the worry of another failure. A failure to keep a promise.

A different pair of arms grab her, and she feels herself slip from Joel's grip. The feeling is foreign, but as she feels herself get carried away, her head tilts to the side, and she can see as Tommy is unwillingly forced to hold Joel back as she's brought.. somewhere.. someplace. Joel's trying to shove past Tommy but he's saying something to him, she can't make out what, and that fatigue comes back twofold.

_"We take care of eachother."_

_"And to the edge of the universe and back-"_

_"Endure and survive." They both say._

And that's when she just let's go.

Everything in this world falls as black as the universe itself.

And, maybe this is what love is?

Because, out of all the things.. she _found_ someone. Even more so, she found a chance, a person who she could rely on, look up to, learn from, and have as something to carry on from all the devastation that this Earth had to offer. And maybe that was she found so beautiful of all. Is that given everything so ugly, she found something so perfect. Maybe that's what gave some people who still walked and breathed some form of hope. Because, when you see someone as the world, and they see you as the same. The world itself is no longer what people think it is, it's just a space. He wasn't perfect by any means, but neither was she. And that's okay.

Brutality in exchange for seeing the beauty of seeing the things worth living for. And shit, Ellie never thought she'd be able to think like that again. To think that all this brutality was a means to keep and protect these beautiful things from all the bad shit.. all the terrible.

Does she regret taking that bullet for Joel? Never.

Would she do it again? Of course she would.

Wait.

Wait.

_No. No. No._

How long has it been?

Where was she?

Is she dead?

She wasn't sure where or what she was until her bright eyes open, and slowly look around. With a shaky sigh in relief, the lantern on the nightstand next to her shows all the medical equipment off in the far corner, and her clothes and her backpack in the chair near the door. She feels the throbbing ache in her side, but the pain is minimal, at the cost of feeling extremely light-headed. Someone put her on drugs to dull the agonizing feeling.

She brushes her hand down and over the light blue gown she now wore, distinctly feeling the thick bandaging wrapped securely around her, covering her injured side where she felt that bullet make its indent in her. Her fingers slowly retract and the nerves calm, her mind finally able to come to peace with itself.

She wasn't dead.

She was okay.

This was the medical building. And that man she briefly remembered holding her, was the medic.

He saved her goddamned life.

It felt like minutes until she sees that very medic in the doorway, saying something to Joel, but he completely ignores him as he charges in, but Ellie doesn't hear a thing because thank fucking God there's Joel and the strained look on his face is a mixture between agony, impatience, and pure comfort. His eyes are sunken in his face like he hasn't slept yet he looks so lively as he barrels over to the corner of the bed and with a quick movement of his arms, pulls her into him as tight as he can without hurting her. She can't even process it until she can feel that familiar consolation, that companionship between them solidified in trust, love, bronze, and every damned thing that managed to keep them together like this for so long.

Joel holds her so close but so placidly, like she's this thin sheet of cracked glass. One arm is around her back and the others on top of her head, just cradling her like she's his lifeline, and she is. If she died, if he lost her, if he let her down.. he would have die with that inconceivable notion, and it fucking kills to even think about it-

He couldn't, can't, fucking fathom living anymore in a world like this without something, _someone_ like her. He murmurs in her auburn hair every possible way to thank whoever, whatever for this, he's telling her how much he loves her. He isn't quite crying but she saw how red his eyes were when he walked in; and he continues to just hold her pressed to him. She can feel his heartbeat hammer through his broad chest, every beat signifying every emotion he felt when it came to her, it proves his attachment, how it went beneath the surface.

His lips find the top of her head and they press a chaste kiss there. Purely appreciative, grateful, that she was here.. she _was_ here.

He didn't fail and he didn't break his promise.

"Don't _ever_ do that to me again." He pleads in the roughest, yet most tender way possible.

Shamelessly, Ellie laughs despite everything. It's just then, her head shakes side to side in a plain rebuttal, and through a steady, shaky voice, her words manage to slip out, and Joel feels her lips curve up in a half-smile against him.

"We take care of eachother, idiot."


	4. Piece of Cake

"-So that's the flour?" Ellie asks, her eyes peering into the big bag, and Joel nods, amused by her interest because she's like a little fucking puppy, just pure giddy.

"Yes, and it's gotta go in with the other dry ingredients." He explains, pulling the mixing bowl closer.

"With the salt and sugar too?"

Joel nods, a small smile on his face as he blind measures the flour and pours it into the bowl. Never thought he'd be doing this again, ever.

"You uh, sure that's gonna make our cake?" She asks, sounding unsure like he knows as much as she does.

"You bet." He affirms.

How the hell would she know anyway, she's never made a cake, let alone had it. Of course Joel knew way more about this than she did. Then again, she never would have thought that Joel would be the baking type. Ellie turns over to see the oven heating up, and she's just surprised that Tommy managed to get it working again. And for someone who gets called an idiot a lot, Tommy is a pretty bright fucking bulb in the shed full of tools.

"You want to crack the egg?" He offers, holding out a brown egg in his hand, and Ellie turns back to look at it, confused.

She takes the egg in her hand, her green eyes gazing up at Joel, "How do I do that?"

Joel can't help but laugh because she's fucking adorable and Ellie huffs. He still can't believe that she didn't grow up without learning stuff like this, then again, it also pained him, all she ever had in her life was learning to fear everything, to expect the worst out of anything, and never expect a chance to live normally. But Joel convinced himself, that no matter how hard it would be, he could try to make that change for her.

"C'mere." He says and goes up behind her, grabbing her hands in his, and he positions them on the edge of the bowl.

"Now tap the egg on an angle," He says, his fingers over hers, "But not too hard, you don't want the shells to get in."

"Alright." She breathes.

But sure enough, with Joel's help, the egg cracks and separates into two, and he helps her grab both ends of the egg, the yolk and the egg white spilling into the bowl, and Ellie smiles in victory. It was the little things that mattered.

"Hey, I did it!"

"You sure did." He says, grabbing the wooden spoon, "I'll start mixing, you mind puttin' the flour away?"

Ellie shakes her head as she drags the big bag off the counter into her arms, going to put it in the closet, but she freezes just before she puts the bag down. Joel doesn't see the mischievous grin on her face as she digs a hand deep down in the bag, grabbing a handful of flour. Making the cake could wait, right?

"Alright Ellie-" He begins, turning around, "I'm gonna need a-"

He's cut off with a mist full of white flour smacking against his face, and a large white cloud springs in the air in suit, Joel's hands quickly go to wipe his face.

"You did not just throw that-" He coughs deeply, and Ellie stands there, with another fucking handful of flour already ready to throw.

"Throw what?" She asks, seeming clueless before looking down to her hand, "Oh you mean this?"

Joel can't even take another step forward when he gets another clump of flour in his face, the powder falling and sticking onto his clothes.

Wiping his face again, Joel nods as he walks over to the bag, sticking his hand in, and Ellie backs up, ready to dodge.

"So, you wanna play like that, huh?" He mutters, and Ellie sidesteps, but instead of trying to dodge, she lets out a squeal and turns around to run.

It's too late though when Joel's arm snakes around her, pulling her into his chest before he plops a pile of flour right on top of her head and into her hair, and when she shifts it falls onto her shoulders and her arms. Groaning, she tries to shake him off.

"Not fair!" She coughs before elbowing him in the chest, making him let her go.

She sees Joel lean down to grab another handful of flour and she runs over to the couch, ducking besides it.

"You can't throw it that far!" She says, almost gladly, but that's when she hears the boots march over.

"Guess I'm comin' to you then." He replies.

"Joel! Wait-!" She squeals, and Joel tries to lap around the couch, throwing another cloud of flour at her.

Fortunately for Ellie, she's too quick and he misses, and most of it ends up on the floor and on the couch. Ellie runs over to the counter and grabs an egg, holding it firmly in hand. Joel brushes his hair off when he tries to come closer, and Ellie lifts her arm.

"I'll throw it at you!" She warns, but Joel laughs.

"You're a terrible throw." He shoots back, almost like a challenge, but he knew calling her a bad throw was above and beyond bullshit.

And that's when he sees it come towards him and he watches it break on him, and she certainly has a wicked throw because she pelted him dead in the chest with it, and hard. The egg shattered, and the contents of it slowly begin to slide down his shirt, his eyes avert to Ellie, and he sees her cheeks grow red despite the white flour on them. She tries to hold in her laugh, but she can't help it when she lets it out, and loud.

Joel storms over. "You're in serious trouble now."

"Shit!" She laughs, ducking behind the island.

Quickly, she sneaks over to the flour bag, and reaches in grabbing another massive fistful of flour just when Joel comes around, and she shoots upright, flinging another clump at him, and more of the flour quickly sticks to his jeans and hair. Ellie goes to run, but Joel grabs her arm, holding her back while the other grabs another egg of the counter, he breaks it in his hand before he pulls Ellie close yet again, rubbing the smashed shell and liquid on her forehead and down her face.

He lets her go and chuckles as Ellie makes a disgusted face, but laughs regardless, "Fucking gross, Joel!"

Within moments, more and more flour was thrown, collecting everywhere, and the two pursued one another around the kitchen and living room, both makes hits on each other, whether it was with eggs or flour.

And come twenty minutes later, themselves and their whole house became nothing more than a white splotched space with sticky egg stuck to the walls and to their clothes. And by this point, they had already long forgotten about the purpose of baking in the first place. The two were in hysterics, and Ellie was trying not to laugh as she's now ducked behind the couch, pot cover in hand, because now the two were using them as fucking shields.

Boldly, Ellie pops up from the couch, and Joel grins before tossing the egg at her, Ellie raises her hand and the egg splats against the cover, the yolk trickling down and dripping on the tops of her sneakers and the wooden floor. Ellie leans back down to grab another egg from the carton as she pops back up.

"You missed!" She snorts, whipping an egg back in retaliation.

Although, Joel's reflexes are too quick and he ducks, the egg misses completely, and instead, it hits and smears down the front of the cupboard behind him.

Joel turns his head over his shoulder to see the egg had missed it's target, he grins, "I reckon you did too."

Ellie pops out from the side of the couch again, laughing as she goes to rush in, and Joel's ready by grabbing another batch of flour. But Ellie's bare feet catch and slide on the flour build up right underneath her, and instead of running forward, she falls right on the ground with a swift thump. Without any hesitation, Joel drops his flour filled hands and rushes over to her, trying to stifle his semblance of a laugh.

Although, just like Ellie, his feet shift underneath the flour, and fucking shit, he feels himself fall back too with a thump, and sure enough now he's down on his ass, covered in part egg and flour, like some fucked up kind of human desert. But he just doesn't give a shit because Ellie's laughing and he is with her and it's amazing. It feels so much better to be fighting with this, and not with bullets for a change.

"You alright?" He asks mid-chuckle, but surely enough Ellie tries to catch a breath from laughing when there's a sudden loud, boisterous knocking on the door.

It calls his attention and Joel slowly gets himself up on his feet, and then giving Ellie a hand as they try to re-collect themselves through their chaos. Joel casually strolls over to the door and turns the handle, opening it slowly, wait until they see this-

Shit. It's Tommy, and he's standing there, mouth now slightly agape as he takes in the sight, and Joel can see that certain look on his face when he gets mad, but he's not exact mad per say, more or less just surprised, and it can only grow when he tilts his head to the side with furrowed eyebrows, getting an eyeful of Ellie and the now messy environment of what used to be a home.

"What in the hell." He breathes, pinching the bridge of his nose while he shakes his head in disbelief.

"Somethin' wrong, brother?" Joel inquires dusting off his hands, almost sarcastically, and Tommy lifts his chin up, nodding.

"Yeah actually," He retorts, his eyes narrowing, "Ya'll been making a racket and scaring the neighbors."

Joel wipes the caked egg on his face and smears it on his jeans, creating even more of a mess, "Well we'll be sure to keep it down-"

"And when I gave you the ingredients," Tommy adds, voice filled with part annoyance, "I meant for good use and not for this silly shit!"

Joel can't help but laugh at how tense his brother always was, and he had a feeling that had something to do along with the pressure with running a whole community. Sure the ingredients could have been for better use or more practical purposes, but why did it matter to Joel? It made Ellie happy, and to be honest he couldn't give a rat's ass about what the other obnoxious members of the town were thinking, they gave him enough trouble on a daily basis already.

Throwing a thumb over his shoulder, Joel shrugs defensively, "She started it."

Ellie's stance grows more firm, she snorts in spite of him, but a smile follows anyway, "You did too!"

Tommy huffs and throws his arms out to his sides, shaking his head in defeat, "Y'know, I ain't got time for this.. just keep it down alright?"

Joel nods as Tommy turns around, now walking down the porch in a haste to leave, "And clean that mess up," He says with an exhaled sigh, "Jesus."

Closing the door, Joel turns to see Ellie standing there, her green eyes accentuated with the white around them.

"Is he pissed?"

Joel shrugs, brushing it off, "I think he'll get over it."

Ellie smiles picking little egg shells off her, "Still think we can actually finish baking?"

Nodding, Joel walks over and pulls her into him for a tight hug, to which Ellie obliges. God, out of everything that's happened to him, after everything, he was just the happiest human being in the world now because he had Ellie and that's all he does need; he doesn't need or want anything else. Yeah, there are going to be hard days in this world, really hard, and maybe the world will stay bitter forever like it has been for twenty years.

But in moments like these?

Well, everything felt like a piece of cake.


End file.
